Becoming Good
by baneismydragon
Summary: After a particular troubling akuma attack, Chloe is forced to contemplate her relationships and her own circumstances, and when a shocking revelation changes things for everyone, it is time for her to decide what sort of a person she really wants to be.
1. Chapter 1

It's amazing when you find yourself held captive by a rampaging monster how much time you actually have to think.

By now Chloe was used to being at the center of an akuma attack. She was an extremely important person after all. Plus as Ladybug's best friend it was only to be expected that she would more often than not find herself a target of Hawkmoth's minions.

But this time was different.

Not the akuma part- that was all pretty par for the course. A particularly hideous underclassman had tried to crash the elaborate end of term party she had arranged at the Palace hotel in order to confess her undying love to Adrien. As if some pimple faced vulture nosed troll was good enough to be with her Adri-chou.

The boy in question had thankfully been out of the room answering a phone call from his father when Sabrina had caught the little trespasser, or who knows what sort of painfully awkward overly polite let down she would have been forced to suffer through.

Instead Chloe had wasted no time putting the delusional little upstart in her place, crumpling the nauseating confession letter the girl had been toting (as if he would ever settle for a girl too pathetic to even handle a proper conversation- that's right I'm looking at you Marinette Dupain-Cheng) and informing the brat in no uncertain terms that she had a snowballs chance in hell of ever being with Adrien. The mousy blonde girl had run crying from the room somewhere around Chloe's protestation that she would sooner be deep fried in butter and garlic and force fed to rabid wolves than allow her best friend to suffer through someone as unbearably loathsome as the fashion challenged teen before her.

Of course little miss goody-goody Marinette and her faithful sidekicks, who had only been invited as a courtesy to Adrien, had thrown a fit. They had angrily shouted at her during her lecture, almost drowning out a few of her more clever witticisms. Marinette had predictably run off after the crying adolescent probably to coax her into a mutual pity party where they could both drool over the latest issue of 'Gabriel', and Chloe would have been more than happy to just say a well-deserved good riddance to the both of them. But no, her obnoxious little Ladyblog friend and her insufferable boyfriend just HAD to stick around and tell Adrikins all about what had happened, prompting yet another hurried scolding from her best friend before he likewise went chasing after them.

Less than two minutes later the akuma had appeared and Chloe had found herself once again getting carted off to some abandoned building or other to 'suffer for her atrociousness.'

Soon enough she was dangling over a giant boiling pot of garlic and butter waiting for the inevitable arrival of Ladybug.

Her heroine had not let her down, bursting on the scene with her pet cat in tow and cleverly putting out the roaring flame as Chat Noir battled against the akuma.

Unfortunately, before Ladybug had a chance to untie her, both Chat and the Akuma had gone crashing out the window. So naturally she had been forced to go after them. But when Ladybug finally came back into release her the spotted hero had looked surprisingly upset.

"Chloe? Are you still here?"

"Thank God." Chloe stated, "Hurry up and get me down from here these ropes are starting to hurt. What took so long anyways?"

"It didn't work."

"What?"

"The Lucky Charm. I didn't have time to use it before I had to de-transform so I had to leave him." Ladybug rambled, clearly more for her own benefit that for Chloe's. "By the time I got back… she said if I followed her that… and now he's gone. She's got him and it's all my fault!"

"Huh?"

"She took Chat. He wasn't even conscious and there was blood… there was so much blood." Ladybug drew in a shuddering breath as she tried to pull at the knots holding the rope. Chloe wasn't even sure that the girl was aware that they were still in the same room given how distracted she was.

"Stop freaking out, it's not like it even matters."

Chloe felt the rope that had been holding her aloft go slack and she fell the few feet into the giant cauldron of liquid below. She let out a horrified cry as the gooey melted butter soaked her designer clothes and clung to her skin.

"Eww! Ladybug you dropped me!"

"How could you." Ladybug growled, and Chloe was surprised to see the hero glaring down at her with angry tears in her eyes.

"Ladybug?"

"How could even YOU be so awful! He's saved this city, he's saved YOU more times than I can count. And now he's hurt, and bleeding and he could… he could…" She trailed off clearly distraught.

Chloe let out an exasperated sigh at the unnecessary worry of it all. After all, as long as Ladybug was fine nothing that happened during the akuma attacks mattered.

"Come on," she said blithely, "you know how the drill works, once you use the miraculous cure everything will be just fine so even if something happens it's not like it's that big of a deal."

Ladybugs face contorted into a furious snarl as she let out a wordless howl of frustrated fury.

"Relax. I mean it's just Chat Noir after all. As your friend-"

"You are NOT my friend! You aren't even a good person!" Ladybug shouted the tears finally pooling down her cheeks as she unleashed the full weight of her stress induced wrath. "And if everything will be 'just fine' after the miraculous cure than there is no point in me wasting time rescuing someone as horrible and rotten as you when I could be saving my partner!" And without even a backwards glance Ladybug pulled out her Yo-yo and swung off.

So now here she was- hands still tied up and trapped in a giant pot full of lukewarm garlic and butter- with nothing to do but think.

…

When the glowing swarm of ladybugs finally rushed past Chloe suddenly found herself safely back on the rooftop deck of the Palace Hotel, her outfit thankfully restored to its original glory.

She walked over to the railing and peered out across the Paris skyline.

A few minutes later she heard footsteps running up the stairs and the heavy metal door swung open.

"Chloe! are you alright?"

She didn't bother to turn towards her visitor, instead cataloguing the colors of the darkening clouds and wondering how many shoes in her collection could match them.

"Chloe?"

"I'm fine Adrien."

"Are you sure?" He ask, still struggling to catch his breath from his frantic flight up the stairs. "I heard that Ladybug left you trapped in-"

"I said I'm fine. The miraculous cure fixes everything you know that Adrikins."

He didn't say anything, instead pulling her into a gentle hug.

Chloe leaned into him, wrapping her arms securely around his waist and deciding to push her luck by nuzzling her nose against his neck. It was a testament to how worried he must be that he didn't shy away from embrace as he normally would whenever she did anything that pushed past the boundaries of platonic friendship.

"How did you know that I had gotten trapped?" Chloe asked softly, hoping to keep him distracted so that she could enjoy this rare display of intimacy.

"Oh. I ran in to Chat Noir after the akuma attack. He knew that we were friends and ask me to check on you."

"Oh." Chloe stomped down the fleeting feeling of disappointment at the hope that perhaps Ladybug had been the one to send Adrien her way. After all, Chloe had been at the center of enough battles to see firsthand that Ladybug, like so many of the rest of the girls their age, had a definite soft spot for the charming model so it wouldn't be all that surprising for her to approach him.

In some of her more generous moments she had even been willing to consider encouraging the connection. Adrien was far too much of a romantic not to fall victim to some damsel or other, and who better for him to fawn over than her super powered idol? It was certainly a better match than the other girls who desperately trailed after him at their school, like Lila or Aurora or god forbid Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

After all, it's not like Chloe minded if Adrien had other interests- she was willing to admit that Adrien wasn't likely to ever be hopelessly in love with her- just so long as he never left her. As long as in some way he was still _hers_. She was his first friend, his BEST friend (no matter what that wannabe musician might say on the subject), and while he might not be IN love with her, she knew that he definitely still loved her.

Love meant something to Adrien. It meant more than presents and money and false flattery. Love was more to him than how useful you could be. Love was more than the pretty picture you saw for maybe 20 minutes a day and blindly doted on without ever really bothering to know anything about. To him love was something that you never stop giving. Love was endless lectures on the phone after school about the need to be nicer or more sensitive, but still bothering to call in the first place despite a far busier schedule than her own. Even at his most exasperated, Adrien never abandon her. He was too good for that.

Ladybug's words echoed in her ears and she clung tighter to the boy beside her.

"Adri-bear?"

"Yes Chloe?" Adrien sighed, his voice darkening in annoyance at the nickname.

"Am I a good person?"

The silence that followed her words cut like a knife and for the first time in a long time she felt genuine tears welling up behind her eyes. At least he hadn't lied to her.

Of course that wasn't really his style.

Adrien let out a soft sigh. "You aren't a _bad_ person Chloe, but you don't really make much of an effort to be a good one either."

Ouch.

"So, that's you're polite way of saying that I'm as terrible as your little friends think I am."

"No, I'm saying that you _could_ be a good person if you tried."

He started to pull away from her, apparently having reach the limit of how long he would stay in such an arguably romantic posture.

She didn't try to fight him on it, instead grabbing his wrists lightly while turning around to face back out towards the city lights, pulling his arms around her shoulders into a friendlier but still familiar embrace.

It was a compromise. He didn't have to worry if he was leading her on, and she could still receive some much needed affection.

Adrien relaxed and she felt the weight of his arms settle more heavily against her shoulders. He had always been good at compromising.

"Maybe it's not something you can really change," she said quietly although trying to force her usual confident levity into the words. "Perhaps people like you are born good and the rest of us just have to put up with your annoying superiority."

"I don't believe that and neither do you," he countered flatly.

She nodded noncommittally and continued to watch the last fading vestiges of the sunset. For a few minutes they just stood there, listening to the sounds of the city lost in their own thoughts.

"Would you like me better if I was a good person?"

Adrien let out a soft snort of laughter and squeezed her tighter. "You don't have to pretend for my sake Chloe, I like you just fine the way you are."

Chloe's heart soared. He had completely misunderstood her intention- she would never have the patience to fake being nice like that to try and win him over romantically. He'd see right through it anyways. But the unconditional love he offered, platonic though it was, was like a balm to her damaged soul.

She didn't need to change for him. He didn't need that in order to love her. But maybe…maybe she _wanted_ to. Perhaps if she tried, she could make him proud of her too.

"I'm serious," she pouted. "Would it make you happy if I was a better person?"

"Yeah," he confessed, his voice so soft she could barely hear it over the rustling of the wind. "Yeah it would make me happy."

She twisted slightly to look at Adrien, his own gaze still trained on the darkening horizon. This poor naïve boy who seemed fated to the worst sort of luck. His beloved mother gone without a trace, his absent father whom he loved so desperately but could never reach through the wall of grief that had arisen after his wife's loss, a best friend who had never been the sort of good and righteous person that he deserved, forcing him to have to find solace with the lamest, most annoying group of do-gooder dweebs in existence.

And yet somehow he was still willing to keep putting up with all of it.

No wonder he seemed so tired all the time.

Well if he could do all that then she could manage too.

"Ok. I'll try."

She could feel her cheeks flush tellingly at the surprised and delighted smile that broke out over his face, the overly large one that exposed that one slightly crooked tooth on his left hand side. The one she selfishly hoped no one else knew about.

"For YOU," she specified, turning back away from him so he wouldn't see how affected she was. "Not because it really matters, but because I still owe you a present because of that whole birthday fiasco."

"Of course," Adrien agreed lightly, although she could hear the giddy amusement coloring his tone. "I need to get going, they sometimes notice if I am not back for dinner."

"You could always eat with us, I am sure Daddy wouldn't mind."

"Maybe next time." He gave her an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "I'm really glad you're ok." And with a final soft smile I turned and headed towards the entry back into the hotel.

She allowed herself a small smile. It would be worth a little effort to see him happy like this more often.

Besides, it couldn't be THAT hard to be a decent person.

She could make more of an effort to appreciate Sabrina's dedication to getting her homework finished on time. She could be a little less vocal about her classmates' lack of style. She could make a point of giving everyone invitations to this year's Christmas Gala instead of making Adrien beg her to. She could try to not pick on Mari- well… baby steps.

She could do this. She just needed somewhere to start.

"Adri-honey?" She called out just as he was swinging open the door.

"Yeah?"

Something good, say something good.

"You said that Chat Noir told you I was here right?"

"Yeah?"

She swallowed heavily. "Ladybug mentioned that he had gotten injured in the attack so I just wanted to check… was he ok?"

She forced herself not to look away, to pretend that this was a perfect normal thing for her to care about, even though Adrien knew full well that she had never once asked about anyone's well-being after an attack, much less shown more than a cursory interest in Ladybug's sidekick. It was a small thing, barely even an effort. But it was a start.

"Yeah." Adrien said again, that awkwardly brilliant smile once again lighting his face like the sun. "He's great."

…


	2. Chapter 2

It was already dark as Chloe crept her way through the empty hall of the mansion.

No one had bothered to great her past security pressing the gate open. Not surprising as she had been a regular guest for years. It was late enough that the majority of the house staff would have already left for the evening.

However the empty halls echoed in the near darkness as she made her way towards the only source of sound. If it weren't for the faint noise of a television broadcast and the barest flickering of light from the farthest room at the end of the hall she might have believed the entire house deserted. She tiptoed towards her destination, ignoring the aura of neglect and despondency that radiated from the magnificent home.

It was even more depressing than usual, which was saying something.

"Adrikins?" She called softly from the doorway.

He didn't turn around. He didn't even acknowledge her presence, just continued to stare at the computer screens playing the footage from this afternoon's attack.

Well, one clip from it anyways.

Chloe squared her shoulders and marched into the room, sliding his chair away from the desk and deliberately sitting down in his lap. He didn't say anything.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling against him in the overly affectionate way she knew he despised. It was invasive and selfish, but for them it was normal.

He still said nothing, but his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

Right now he needed normal more than he needed considerate.

She felt Adrien tense as the video clip he had been watching played out the scene she was sure he had watched a dozen times already before her arrival.

The akuma had taken too long to defeat.

Chat Noir had already been forced to use his Catalysm earlier in the fight and was nearing the end of his time limit, but as he had turned to run off and recharge a wounded cry had sounded behind him and Ladybug went crashing to the ground in an inelegant heap. Chat had immediately dove back into the fray, heedless of his impending detransformation, desperate to protect his lady.

The fight had been savage. Chloe herself had been one of the many onlookers, though at the time she had been far more focused on her spotted idol summoning her own special power to care much about what was going on with the feline part of the superhero duo.

The lucky charm had worked perfectly of course- disabling the monster and allowing Chat Noir to grab the cursed item and toss it to Ladybug to destroy and purify.

But luck had not been on his side. Even as the infected necklace went sailing out of the hero's leather clad claws his transformation had melted away.

Chloe didn't need to look at the monitors playing out the reveal in Adrien's darkened bedroom. She could remember the scene with perfect clarity. She could feel the rush of magic as Ladybugs powers restored the akuma's damage, she could hear Alya's gasp of shocked recognition from somewhere beside her, and most importantly she could recall with perfect clarity the look of undisguised heartbreak on her best friend's face as Ladybug's eyes had widened with dismay and disbelief before she turned and ran from the scene without a word.

It had only taken a few seconds of shock before Adrien had been mobbed. Every reporter save one who had been on hand to record the attack anxious to break the latest news that the superhero of Paris was none other than famous fashion model Adrien Agreste.

Only Alya had held back, her ever present phone clutched to her chest and her mouth hanging open, a detail Chloe only noticed because she too had been glued to her place.

She had watched unmoving as Adrien fended off questions and calmly addressed the swarm that had engulfed him. She had stared, useless as his behemoth of a bodyguard had arrived to escort him away in one of the many Agreste transports.

In fact it wasn't until Sabrina began forcibly dragging her back in the direction of the Palace hotel that she even became aware of her own dazed state.

For the last several hours she had tried to reconcile what she had seen, to adjust to the new and shocking truth that her best friend was a superhero.

And she hadn't had a clue.

But this wasn't the time for uncomfortable self-reflection.

"You know Adrikins, it was hard enough driving away all of your stalker fans when you were just a supermodel. Now I am going to completely have my work cut out for me." She teased, falling back into the comfortable routine of making every situation about her. Hopefully Adrien would take the bait and give her some clue as to how he was handling any of this. Maybe then she would know what to possibly say.

Adrien said nothing.

"I guess it isn't surprising," she plowed on, as if she hadn't noticed his silent misery, "that everyone is going crazy, I mean who doesn't secretly want to be cool enough to be connected to a superhero."

"hn." Adrien grunted.

"And Chat Noir is my favorite superhero, so of course it makes sense that he would end up being you."

"Since when is Chat Noir your favorite?"

Chloe felt some of the tension leave her body. He was talking. That was a good sign at least.

"Since always, God Adrien it's like you don't even listen to a word I say." She quipped.

"I guess not, because I could have sworn Ladybug was your favorite."

"She's just easier to buy merchandise for, so I can see where you might think that. Stupid manufacturers, I'll have to talk to Daddy about that."

"I see."

"Besides, Chat Noir is much cooler than Ladybug."

"Oh really? Why is that?"

"Well, he's clearly a lot stronger than Ladybug. That's why he is the one who get's beaten up all the time, because otherwise Ladybug would get squished and couldn't purify the akumas."

Adrien let out a soft disbelieving snort, but she could see the barest flicker of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth so she pressed ahead.

"Also his outfit is much more flattering. Red is so last season, whereas black is always in style which you should know Adrichou. Did your father teach you nothing?"

"We don't really get much of a say in the outfits Chlo."

"Still, she could accessories. And who wears their hair in pigtails anyways? The only person I know who does that is Marinette and we all know what a fashion challenged loser she is."

"Chloe…"

"Plus she isn't remotely photogenic," she continued hurriedly, hoping to avoid yet another lecture from Adrien about her attitude towards their petite classmate, "I must have taken a dozen selfies with her and she is never smiling in any of them."

Adrien didn't contradict her the way he normally would have.

Chloe's inability to get a good photo with Ladybug had been a sore spot for a long time, and the two had debated on the topic numerous times in the past. Chloe had ultimately insisted that Ladybug, as close to perfect as she may be, was clearly was camera shy. Adrien had always been quick to point out that maybe she was not going to be in the mood to smile while in the middle of saving Chloe from an akuma. Especially one that she had more often than not caused.

For the first time Chloe realized that Adrien might actually have a point on the subject.

After all he would know.

She felt herself flush guiltily, which was strange because guilt was not an emotion that she normally allowed herself to feel.

She looked up at him surreptitiously, his gaze still unblinkingly fixed on his computer screen. The video had long ago played out and was now frozen on a shot of Adrien, looking tired but resolute, surrounded by reporters and spectators.

How many times had he been forced to fight because of her? How many times had he been possessed by someone that she triggered?

Did he resent her?

It would explain a lot about how their friendship, while still intact, had definitely become strained ever since he had started school. He rarely spent any time with her during the week, choosing instead to socialize with the trio of misfits he had adopted. Sure they would still see each other privately on occasion, and he always responded to her calls and texts, but it was nothing like she had imagined it would be when she had finally managed to talk him into sneaking out to come to her school.

"Chat Noir is also nicer than Ladybug," she said softly. "He always makes sure that I am safe from the akumas, even when Ladybug runs off."

Not that she had really earned it. She had never once said thank you to what she had always viewed as Ladybug's sidekick. After all, who says thanks to the help, right?

Well, except for Adrien.

"Chat Noir is always there for the people who love him," she continued, hating the slight tremor that was coloring her voice. "Even the ones who probably don't deserve it. The stupid ones who don't see how incredible he is."

"Thank you."

"For what Adrihoney?"

"For this. For coming over here. I… I think I needed the company."

Chloe forced out a laugh, and ruffled his hair playfully as if this was just another day of them hanging out after shopping.

"Oh Adrichou! Of course I want to celebrate my best friend's exciting news!" The words tasted like acid on her tongue, but she refused to drop her smile. She could play dumb. She could act like she didn't know the sort of repercussions this reveal was going to have on her friend.

"Yeah, exciting."

"I am amazed I didn't have to bowl my way through all of your annoying little friends. I would have thought Cesaire would have fallen over herself to come get a personal interview, given what a loser fangirl she is," Chloe said, refusing to admit that she arguably could be accused of being just as guilty of such a title.

"She isn't answering her phone. Neither is Nino," Adrien replied.

His voice was unsteady although he tried to hide it, and for once Chloe felt 100% justified in her loathing of her classmates. Yeah it was a shock. Chloe more than anyone could understand that. But it had been hours since the attack and she had managed to get her act together enough to come over here, and no one would ever accuse Chloe Bourgeois of being the height of empathy.

"Maybe they finally have realized how much cooler you really are then them." She teased, then immediately realized that was probably the worst possible thing she could have said. Speaking of lack of empathy.

Adrien didn't respond but she could feel him shaking. Damn it.

"Tomorrow they will all be panting after you like usual." Chloe said. Adrien only gave her a noncommittal hum in reply, and Chloe felt her heart sink even deeper.

"Has Ladybug contacted you?"

The silence in the room was deafening.

Well she wasn't about to push any father on that topic.

Chloe took a deep breath before asking her next question.

"What did you father say?"

"He caught a flight out to New York this afternoon."

Adrien didn't specify if the flight was before or after the news of his double identity had spread. She had a sinking suspicious she already knew the answer.


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe slammed open the door to the class with as much force as she could muster, her patented haughty sneer firmly locked into place.

If there was one thing she knew how to do well, it was make an entrance.

All eyes were on her, as was to be expected, and she could hear the surprised gasps and startled murmurers of her classmates as they took in her choice of outfit.

She stalked into the room careful not to look at anyone as she made her way deliberately over to her desk and dropped the large box in front of Sabrina.

Her startled friend opened the massive package and gasped in surprise as she began pulling out an impressive collection of Ladybug merchandise. Shirts, hats, posters, even her special state of the art Ladybug costume complete with jeweled earrings and LED enhanced yo-yo.

"I figured you might like some of my old things since I've upgraded my collection," she said, conscious of the fact that the entire class was watching her with rapt attention. "After all, I need someone to be the Ladybug to my Chat Noir."

"But Chloe, you're always Ladybug," Sabrina said, looking at her friend like she had grown a second head.

Chloe steeled her nerves and said the line she had been practicing in the mirror all last night, "Why would I settle for second best when we all know that Chat Noir is superior superhero?"

She heard a few gasp and the sound of a light thud from a bad hitting the floor.

She turned around slowly, already knowing there was only one person who could be standing behind her to cause the flurry of murmurs from her classmates. She held her head high and fixed her most confident smile on her face.

Adrien stared at her, his eyes shimmering with what suspiciously looked like tears as he took in her carefully chosen outfit. From the black knee high heeled boots tucked into form fitting black denim pants, the Lime green and grey stripped tank top covered by a stylish faux leather shrug jacket, to the silver dangle cat earrings and matching necklace, and of course the coup de grâce- the diamond studded cat ear headband perched atop her expertly styled hair.

"Adrichou!" She cried, trying not to be flustered at his overwhelmed expression of gratitude, "Its so good to see you, I was worried that you wouldn't be able to get here with all the press throwing such a fit."

He didn't respond to her, instead he walked forward and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"You didn't have to do all this," he murmured quietly into her neck.

"Of course I did," she replied, fighting to keep her own voice steady, "I told you, I'm Chat Noirs number one fan."

…

Chloe was surprised when she walked into the restroom before the last morning class to find Marinette Dupain-Cheng hyperventilating in front of the mirror muttering to herself.

The girl had already made quite the entrance that morning, barging into the classroom half an hour late and practically face planting into Adrien's desk.

She had been twitchy and agitated all morning, pining over Adrien with even less subtlety than usual. Not that Chloe had been paying attention.

The distraught girl didn't even seem to notice that she was no longer alone in the room as she continued to ramble to herself.

"You can do this Marinette. You can do this. He needs you."

"You know it never ceases to amaze me how ridiculously stupid you can be." Chloe sneered, happy to have found an opportunity to vent her frustrations on her favorite target.

She saw Marinette stiffen, her hands gripping the edge of the sink.

"Go away Chloe. I don't have time to deal with you right now."

"Well you had better make some, because this isn't the time for your pathetic little crush."

Marinette spun around, glaring daggers at Chloe. "You might think you are so special just because your father has money and power, but you are just a spoiled little pest. You aren't going to chase me off, not now, not ever. Adrien isn't some prize that you can try to claim for yourself, he has other people to take care of him now. He doesn't have to settle for your toxic, self-absorbed friendship anymore. He deserves better than that!"

Chloe's eyes narrowed in anger and she snarled at the girl in front of her.

She hated Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She hated her pathetic do-gooder kindness. She hated her idiotic naiveté. She hated that this oblivious, cowardly little pipsqueak had Adrien wrapped around her little finger and didn't even know it.

She hated that everything she had said was true.

No.

Maybe it was true yesterday, but not anymore. She _was_ Adrien's true friend. _She_ had been the one to find him and comfort him last night. _She_ was standing up for him and proving herself worthy of his friendship. She was showing that she could eventually become the sort of person he had always believed her capable of being.

Marinette wasn't the only one who could be good.

And she wasn't the only one who could bring up uncomfortable truths.

"And how do you think he is going to take it you pull one of your little turn and run acts when you try to talk to him with everything going on?" Chloe said smugly. "He is already dealing with everyone either trying to get a piece of him or refusing to talk to him all together and I am not going to watch him get let down by another one of his so called friends."

Marinette's mouth hung open in surprise as she just stared at Chloe.

"Adrien doesn't need anyone else bolting at the sight of him," Chloe continued, "he's barely holding it together as it is, and since you clearly can't handle it if you little pep talk here is anything to go by, you have no business lecturing me on the subject."

Marinette did something that Chloe had never seen in all her years of bullying her- she burst into loud, hysterical tears.

"You're right. I'm so stupid." She wailed, her knees giving out as she slumped against the sink. "I failed him so much… how will I ever be able to fix it? I ruined everything!"

There was something incredibly unsatisfying about watching Marinette sob like this. Perhaps it was because there was no one else around to appreciate her victory. Perhaps it was that she was once again putting her own ego ahead of what was best for Adrien. Regardless watching the small girl weep uncontrollably was making her uncomfortable so she needed to do something.

"Don't be such a drama queen," said Chloe, though with less malice than before, "in case you haven't noticed Adrien is the world biggest pushover. I don't think he is going to hate you forever just because you're a loser. At least from you the gawking is par for the course. He may have even found it flattering in a weird sort of way."

Marinette looked up, her mouth open to say something but then immediately closed it again. Her brow furrowed as if she was having some sort of internal argument with herself.

"But I let him down," she said softly, "He needed a friend and all I could think about was myself."

Chloe rolled her eyes.

She was such a strange short little thing. Certainly not anything special no matter what Adrien might say. And definitely not cute either.

"So either suck it up and do better or go back to sobbing in the corner," Chloe retorted. "But either way I'm not going to let you drag Adrikins into your drama. If all you care about is making yourself feel better then you're just wasting his time. He needs real friends not just leeches."

Chloe was rather pleased with herself. The modified version of the speech she had been giving herself for the last 36 hours sounded even better when directed at a wide eyed Marinette.

Here she was giving her least favorite person in the world helpful advice instead of just rubbing her own insufficiency in her face. Adrien would be so proud.

Marinette stood up, wiping at her eyes and brushing the dust off her clothes.

"You're right," she said, nodding resolutely to the mirror, "it's about what he needs right now."

"Assuming you are even capable of providing that."

She turned to Chloe and met her eye with a steady, resolute gaze. "I won't mess up again."

They stood sizing each other up for a few minutes, both unwilling to back down.

Finally Chloe dropped her shoulders and sighed. This wasn't the time for _her_ petty feelings either.

"Look, I still don't like you. But I can't do this by myself. He needs to know that people accept him. You don't have to talk about what happened or give any sort of lame speech or whatever, just treat him like a normal person and he'll be happy."

"Okay," Marinette said, for once with no hint of confrontation. She fidgeted nervously, tugging at her clothing. "Do you have any other advice?" She asked at last.

If the look on her face was anything to go by she would have rather swallowed broken glass than ask such a question of her relentless tormenter. Still, here she was, willing to swallow her pride for Adrien's sake. It was, annoyingly, rather impressive.

Chloe let out another weary sigh of displeasure and walked over to her rival. "Just hold still."

She dug into her purse and pulled out a small hair brush. Yanking out the hair ties, she divested Marinette of her pigtails (the last thing Adrien needed was Ladybug reminders from a hopeless fan, plus who was the girl kidding anyways, the twin tails made her look five.) She brushed the hair into a loose wave. Digging back into her purse she pulled out her back up kitten ear headband, this one delicate lace-like metal weave tucked into a bed of green and black flowers.

"There," she said, fixing the band behind Marinette's ears. "Now even if you do your usual babble speak he should still get the point."

Marinette's mouth quirked into a small smile, her head tilting softly to one side with an oddly searching expression. Chloe felt herself blush and immediately turned away, pretending to be absorbed in adjusting her own tresses.

"Thank you," Marinette said quietly.

"Just don't screw it up," Chloe huffed, her face still refusing to lose the slight flush of pink. "For some reason Adrikins finds your pathetic-ness adorable so I am willing to suffer through your presence if it will help cheer him up." She met Marinette's eyes in the mirror. "But if you make things worse I will show you just how miserable I can make your life. Are we clear?"

Marinette nodded, that same slightly knowing gleam still shining in her eyes. She gathered up her things and headed to the exit, shoulders tall and a determined spring in her steps.

Chloe wondered if maybe little Miss Dupain-Cheng was finally going to manage an entire conversation with her crush.

"Oh Chloe? How do you want me to get your headband back to you?"

"Just keep it. I have other ones."

There was no way she was ever going to admit that it had looked far better against the smaller girls dark hair than her own.

….

"Hello Chloe."

"Ladybug?" Chloe gasped. She felt her cheeks flush in excitement at the sight of her idol sitting on her balcony.

"I was… I wanted to… well… I was hoping we could talk." Ladybug stammered out.

"Oh. Sure," Chloe said, struggling desperately to hide her enthusiasm. After all she was supposed to be mad at Ladybug. Adrien deserved her loyalty more than Ladybug did. No matter how amazing and cool and gorgeous and… the point was Adrien was her dearest friend. Ladybug was just an, admittedly miraculous, stranger.

"I heard about what you did today," Ladybug said softly. "For Chat Noir I mean."

"Word travels fast," Chloe replied, trying to keep her voice as disdainful as possible.

"I wanted to say thank you."

Chloe looked at her in surprise.

"When everything… happened… I didn't react well. Chat deserved… deserves better, and I just wanted to say that… well… I'm glad that that's what he got from you. You were an amazing friend and you were there for him when I wasn't. I just hope that I can be as good a friend to him as you are."

"You should tell him all of this you know." Chloe said softly. As much as she wanted to stay true to her conviction of shaming Ladybug for her failure, it was hard to stand up against her idol. Especially when the super powered girl was finally looking at her with something other than frustrated tolerance.

"I know. I'm going to see him next."

"Good."

They stood in silence for a few moments, neither really sure what to say.

"Well I should get going," Ladybug said at least, pulling out her yo-yo and preparing to leave. "Thanks again Chloe. For what it's worth… I'm really proud of you."

"Ladybug!" Chloe cried out before she could stop herself.

"Yeah?"

"Could… could I get a picture with you before you go?"

"Sure."

…

For once Chloe didn't try to fight the light prickling of tears that swelled in the corner of her eyes as she stared at the photo on her phone screen. There was no one around to see her anyways. With trembling fingers she uploaded the shot to her social media page and began filling out the appropriate tags.

It didn't take long before her phone began blowing up with alerts and comments. She was a very prominent social figure after all.

She smiled softly to herself as she looked at the post.

 _Hanging out with my second favorite superhero! #Ladybug #no1fan #Chloeisqueen #selfie #I3Ladybug #ChatNoirisstillbestthough_

And beneath that, a shot of two hugging girls, one in a mask, the other still adorned with jeweled cat ears, both wearing brilliant smiles.


End file.
